The Last Of Us multiplayer title is facing a hill to climb following a wave of job cuts at Naughty Dog, leaving the project “on ice” for the foreseeable future. An insider source informed Kotaku that the multiplayer title is on hold – not cancelled.
The multiplayer title, originally planned to be a part of The Last Of Us Part II at launch in 2020, was pulled away from the sequel and developed into a project of its own. “We know many of you have been looking forward to hearing more about our The Last of Us multiplayer game,” a recent statement by Naughty Dog explained.
“We’re incredibly proud of the job our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we’ve realized what is best for the game is to give it more time.”
“Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a brand new single-player experience; we look forward to sharing more soon,” the statement continues.
Around the same time, Bloomberg released a report highlighting Sony’s decision to tap the brakes on the development of the factions mode as Naughty Dog reviewed the “quality and long-term viability” of the title.
Naughty Dog has delegated the workload across the studio – dividing employees to resume work on the multiplayer title and others to different projects. Sony recruited Bungie, the developers behind Destiny 2, to oversee and assess in-progress titles within their studio, leading Bungie to question whether The Last Of Us multiplayer has the legs to keep players engaged in the long-term.
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